V1 Inl'tMF L liv'il'NlFii dHl u T H H JC- 3-11-31 -il 'hF-Nll' Lli'ri lft5wlimitfl t tt bt tt TN COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND AND GOVERNMENTAL DC 20510 5250 March 7 2017 The Honorable John Kelly Secretary of Homeland Security U S Department of Homeland Security 3801 Nebraska Avenue NW Washington DC 20528 Dear Mr Secretary 1 am writing regarding the designation of election infrastructure as a critical infrastructure subsector As you know on January 6 2017 the Obama Administration announced that election infrastructure would become a critical infrastructure subsector within the Government Facilities Sector I Former Homeland Security Secretary eh Johnson described election infrastructure as storage facilities polling places and centralized vote tabulations locations used to support the election process and information and communications technology to include voter registration databases voting machines and other systems to manage the election process and report and display results on behalf of state and local governments 2 The designation allows states localities tribal and terroritial SLTT governments that volunteer to receive prioritized cybersecurity assistance from the Department of Homeland Security The Obama Administration designated election infrastructure as critical infrastructure due to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election On October 7 2016 DHS and the Of ce of the Director of National Intelligence ODNI issued ajoint statement explaining Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company 4 The ODNI report released in January documenting Russian intervention in the election stated Russian intelligence accessed elements of multiple state or local electoral boards The report concluded US Department of Homeland Security Fact Sheet Designation ofEiection as Critical In astractare Jan 6 2017 2 US Department of Homeland Security Statement by Secretary Jeh Johnson on the Designation of Eieetion Infrastructure as a Criticai In astraetnre Sabsector Jan 6 2017 3 id 4 Joint Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence statement Joint Statement from the Department ofHomeiand Security and O ice of the Director ofNationai on Eteetion Security Oct 7 2016 The Honorable John Kelly March 2017 Page 2 that Moscow will build upon the tactics it used in 2016 to influence future U S elections 5 thus necessitating a vigilant response to ensure that U S election systems are secure and prepared for challenges that might arise in elections moving forward Several state Secretaries of State have raised questions regarding how DHS plans to implement this designation and what it means for their states independent authority to oversee elections For example the Vermont Secretary of State noted We continue to work with DHS on a regular basis as part of our overall cybersecurity approach It has not yet been made fully clear to us 1Enhat the critical designation means and have posed a number of clarifying questions You publicly expressed support for maintaining the Department s designation of election infrastructure as critical infrastructure in order to ensure that voting machines voter registration systems and other assets essential to holding free and fair elections are eligible for prioritized cybersecurity assistance from DHS In response to questioning from Rep Cedric Richmond D- LA before the House Committee on Homeland Security you said believe we should help all of the states provide them as much help as we can to make sure that their systems are protected in future elections so I would argue that yes we should keep that in place In order to better understand the designation and your plans for implementation please provide written responses audior documents addressing the following inquiries by March 17 201 1 Before the election on November 3 2016 how many SLTT governments requested assistance 2 Have any new SLTT governments requested DHS assistance after the January designation 3 Why does the designation include both physical and virtual assets if the 2016 election interference solely involved cyber-attacks and is only offering cyber related assistance 4 The Fact Sheet on the designation explains Protecting and defending this infrastructure is the responsibility of state and local governments and election of cials 8 3 Id 6 Vermont Secretary of State Secretary ofStote Jim Condos Statement on DHS Designating Elections Systems as Critical Jan 201 online at House Committee on Homeland Security Hearing an Ending the Crisis America s Borders and the Path to Security 115th Cong Feb 7 2017 3 US Department of Homeland Security Fact Sheet Designation ofEiection infrastructure as Critical I an 2017 The Honorable John Kelly March 7 2017r Page 3 10 11 Are states and localities or is the federal government responsible for expenses associated with the assistance and support provided by If DHS identi es vulnerabilities within an SLTT government s system that require attention is the SLTT government responsible for the costs of implementing the solution If fixes are identified to improve an SLTT government s system but that government chooses not to make the recommended adjustments to address the problem is the state or locality liable under law Will the designation of election infrastructure as a critical infrastructure subsector continue under the Trump Administration What assistance and tools can DHS provide to SLTT governments that participate in the program Do you anticipate that DHS will require any additional personnel resources or authorities to ful ll its responsibilities associated with the designation How did DHS make the following determination mentioned in the ODNI report assesses that the types of systems we observed Russian actors targeting or compromising are not involved in vote tallying Please provide copies of any guidance or any other information provided by DHS to SLTT governments responding to the Department s designation If you or members of your staff have any questions about this request please ask your staff to contact Julie Klein with the Committee staff at 202-224-2627 Please send any of cial correspondence relating to this request to Amanda Trosen at Thank you for your attention to this matter CC Sincerely Claire McCaskill Ranking Member Ron Johnson Chairman                     National Security Archive    Suite 701  Gelman Library  The George Washington University    2130 H Street  NW  Washington  D C  20037    Phone  202 994‐7000  Fax  202 994‐7005  nsarchiv@gwu edu